


A Piece of Home

by smoothmovebro



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, vintage cassettes as tokens of affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-22 20:25:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13771875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smoothmovebro/pseuds/smoothmovebro
Summary: Home can take many forms. For Michael, it's a vintage cassette and Jake Dillinger.





	A Piece of Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [micaharts](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=micaharts).



> written as a thank you for [micah's](https://www.instagram.com/micaharts) donation to my kofi.  
> check out [my page](https://ko-fi.com/smoothmovebro) for more info!

Michael and Jake were paired off for a science experiment at the lab. Jake volunteered to fetch the equipment. Michael stayed behind at their bench to write up the report.

After he put on his goggles and saw that Jake was busy rifling through cabinets, Michael seized his opportunity. He ducked down under the bench and opened his bag. Amidst the notebooks and the clothes and the crumpled pieces of paper he never got around to throwing, he dug up the thing he was looking for.

A vintage cassette. It was from Michael's attic, labelled in a language he should know but doesn't. He played it once and it came out scratchy and grainy, worn from neglect. He knew that Jake wouldn't have a player to listen to the tape but that didn't matter. What mattered was the thought.

He took out the tape and looked at it one last time. Its compact and slightly bulky structure. The ridges in the middle of the tape. The peeling label and the cracked sticker where you could barely make out the artist's name. Side A and Side B labelled on either side of the cassette. The flimsy and smooth texture of the tape itself.

It was a piece of home that Michael wanted to give to Jake. Because Jake feels like home.

Michael heard Jake's footsteps approach the bench and he nearly bumped his head on the table trying to get up. He rose and held the tape behind his back. "You got the stuff?" he asked.

Jake put down the equipment one by one, listing them off. "Beakers, Bunsen burner, test tubes, test tube rack..."

Once all the materials were set down, Michael put down the tape and slid it towards Jake. "And this is for you."

Jake stared at the tape and took it gingerly into his hands. He looked up at Michael. "You know I don't have a tape player, right?"

Michael laughed and waved a dismissive hand. "That's not the point. The point is that..." He shuddered in his head when he said it. "You're cooler than a vintage cassette. And... it's a tape from home."

"What's home got to do with me?"

Seeing the genuine confusion in Jake's face made tears threaten to spill from Michael's eyes. Michael cleared his throat and said, "Because you're home too."

Jake stared at Michael, then looked down at the tape in his hands. He grinned, sloppy but sincere, and clutched the tape to his heart. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and put the cassette in his back pocket. He stepped closer to Michael.

"Thank you." Jake kissed Michael's forehead and ruffled his hair. He now keeps the tape in his bedside drawer.


End file.
